Hypokrit Theatre Company along with James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation present the first annual festival of South Asian Performing Arts in New York City. The festival, titled Tamasha, will showcase an array of Dance, Music, Spoken Word, Theatre and Comedy by South Asian Artists. Tamasha 2016 will be held from September 26th to October 2nd at the Paradise Factory in Manhattan. The festival was curated by Arpita Mukherjee, Shubhra Prakash (both former chairs of the South Asian International Performing Arts Festival), and Nikita Chaudhry to provide opportunities for up-and-coming artists of South Asian origin to connect and collaborate.
“Tamasha’s inaugural year happens to be one where it is imperative for minority communities, first, second generation immigrants, to speak up. The festival includes over 50 South Asian artists from around the world and other artists of color as well. Each individual voice is unique, but we speak collectively” says Arpita Mukherjee, Festival Co-Chair of Tamasha and Co-Founder of Hypokrit Theatre Company.
Tamasha, which means "to walk together" in Persian, travelled to Maharashtra and Deccan through the Mughal dynasty. The word then evolved as the name for a popular folk theatre form, which melded dance, poetry, music, comedy and theatre, and drew from Hindu and Muslim culture. In contemporary Hindi, Tamasha means a grand show or performance, a fun-filled play, or simply entertainment.
Founded by Arpita Mukherjee and Shubhra Prakash, Hypokrit Theatre Company adapts classical plays from different cultures for the contemporary audience. Hypokrit Theatre Company’s mission is to encourage artistic inquiry and break down the artifice in a work to reach its emotional core. Interested in positing the question of what makes a story universal, Hypokrit Theatre Company is dedicated to adapting classics, both time-tested and brand new, from around the world for the contemporary audience. Their mission is expressed through the choice of setting and time period. Through the collision of different worlds and aesthetics, Hypokrit challenges notions of universality in a multicultural world.
Tamasha’s endeavours to create a platform for up-and-coming South Asian artists and professionals involved in all aspects of performing arts (creative and technical). To encourage cultural exchange and dialogue and showcase a plethora of works from the South Asian subcontinent as well as the South Asian Diaspora.
The Mission of the James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, Inc. is to support young global leadership impacting positive social change and the NGOs that support them, particularly in the fields of the Arts, Education, and Orphan Care.
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